How to Start a Nursery
Getting started in the nursery business is much easier than most people think. In the video that we have posted here I show you how simple it can be to get started in the nursery business. Following the strategy that I explain in this video it can be as simple as buying some plants, planting them in your garden or putting them in a plastic nursery container and selling them. In this video I feature Japanese Red Maples but the same thing holds true for just about any plant that you’d like to grow. Or any plant that you’d like to buy and re-sell.
If you’d like to start a nursery you can get started in a really small area. Japanese Red Maples are actually quite easy to grow from seed and I tell you exactly how to do that in this article; “Growing Japanese Maples from Seed”. Japanese maple seeds are ripe and ready to pick in the fall and if you start looking around and paying close attention you’ll find a number of Japanese maple trees in your area that you can probably get permission to collect seeds from.
But . . . growing plants from seed is a slow process. As you can see in the video I simply picked up the phone and ordered 500 Japanese Red Maples that have really good root systems and are about 18″ tall. I propagate a lot of the plants that I sell from cuttings, but things that take too long I simply buy them and resell them. Of course you don’t have to buy 500 plants at one time, that’s just what I do because I know without a doubt that I can sell them. You can buy in smaller quantities and still get great wholesale pricing. I explain how to do that in my book; Small Plants, Big Profits from Home” that comes with my Backyard Growing System.
A number of years ago I purchased several hundred Japanese maples like the ones that I show in the video. I planted them in a bed in my Backyard. Some I sold right away for $4.97 and others I left in the bed and let them get bigger. Many of them sold from $12.00 which was a steal and people went crazy over them at that price, some I sold for $25.00. Some I put in the field and let them get to a height of about 40″ tall and I sold those for $45.00 each. Those sold like hot cakes!
So if you want to start a nursery you should think both long term and short term. You can buy plants and sell enough of them immediately to pay for the entire order, then the rest of the plants you can grow to a larger size and sell them at a much higher price like I do.
For instance in the video you’ll see four boxes of Japanese maples, 125 plants in each box. My total investment was $890.00 including the shipping cost. That means that if I sell 180 of those plants at $4.97 right away. The rest of the plants, 320 of them, I can grow on and sell at a much higher price later on. This is how I quickly build the inventory in my nursery.
Other plants like Forsythia, Weigela, Rose of Sharon, Arborvitae and all kinds of evergreens I buy them once, then take cuttings from them before I sell them and I never have to buy that particular plant again. That’s the magic of this business. Buying plants that you can take cuttings from forever. When you grow a plant from a cutting that you root yourself, your cost in the plant is a plastic pot and some potting soil. And a teaspoon or two of fertilizer.
But the most amzing thing is that you don’t have to do any selling. As soon as people find out you grow and sell plants they immediately want to see what you have to sell. In my book; “Small Plants, Big Profits from Home” I explain to you in detail how to find plant buyers. Both retail buyers and wholesale buyers.
I hope this short article helps you with your quest to start a nursery.
Questions? Comments? Post them below and I’ll do my best to get back here and answer them for you.
Does this really work? I want you to meet Phyllis in Florida.
i am intereseted to start this bussiness in india which plant is more profitable kinly guide me in this
Sheela,
The most profitable plants to grow are those that are relatively easy to propagate and are popular in the area in which you live. Look to see what people are buying and grow those plants for starters.
Mike, to start a nursery I may have missed this but can the public like myself buy wholesale? what doe we really need first to start our nursery? Looked all over your info that I got but didn’t see this part? I’m really new but love plants. Thanks
Gary,
The general public cannot buy wholesale. But once you have my system you will become a member of the trade and I teach you how to go about buying wholesale. As members of the trade we routinely buy thousands and thousands of plants for crazy low prices from 65 cents to $1.50 each. And I share with you all of the wholesale sources where I buy my plants and supplies. https://mikesbackyardnursery.com/2013/03/how-to-make-65%C2%A2-per-square-inch-in-your-backyard/
Mike, I purchased the entire system from you awhile back and cannot remember how to get to the members only message board. Can you please help me get back on track.
Sincerely, Chris
Chris, I sent you an Email. Thanks!
Hi Mike,
I look forward to your newsletters about Japanese Maples, especially the red variety. I only have 2 that are growing in my yard and I live in Southern California. This past summer we had to dig up 3 beautiful, mature Queen Date Palms because they were damaging the retainer wall. What would you suggest we plant in these planters that will provide shade and not damage the walls in the future? These trees would be facing West so would get alot of sun.
Thanks for all that you do.
Lucy
I enjoy your e-mails very much and love the info in your videos. I am anxious to start a backyard nursery. I live in N.E. Texas with mild climate and very hot summers. I will need to start out with the plants I have and work up to ordering your system. Thank you so much. Couldn’t have come at a better time financially.
Hi Mike, Keep up the good work. Totally enjoy everything you do. I would like to start a nursery someday. I am planning to build a hoop house. Can I start growing plants in Oct? I live upstate NY by Rochester, real cold winters.
I’m afraid everything will die.
I love the maples and how amazing they look in the spring through fall. How much room is needed for planting?
Don, that depends on what your plans for them are. I often plant them as close together as 8″ and I can leave them there for two or three years, pull out, pot up and sell. If I put them in the field I put them 24″ to 30″ apart. http://freeplants.com/wanted.htm
Watched your video on starting plants from cuttings and did so with our hydrangeas and it worked to perfection all 25 of them .Now they have roots about 1 1/2 long and with winter coming on I am not sure if I should transplant them or leave them in the sand for the winter. What would you think would be best . Thanks
I was wondering of my Japanese maples would grow fine of I leave them in my mini greenhouse all the time and let it vent out a little bit. Should this be ok? Or do I need to put them more in the shade?
Mike
My Japanese Maple’s bark is peeling and a couple of the branches leaves died off. What could be going on with my tree. It is so pretty in the fall, I would hate to loose it.
Nancy
Says I don’t have permission to view video
Mike,
I just purchased your system and am anxiously waiting on the book to arrive. I’ve been reading everything you’ve given me so far, and am so excited that last night I had trouble getting to sleep.
I’ve been a school bus driver for 21 years now and am so ready to hang it up. I love succulents and have so many now it’s eating up space in my home during the winter. During the summer they live outside and when something I ordered came, delivered by FedEx, the driver made comments on my plants. He went home with one. Now I’m hooked and can’t decide what I want to start on first, but am thinking “the raised bed”. Not for my succulents, but for the plants I intend on growing in the spring.
Didn’t mean to write a letter, but am sooooooo excited!
would that be a good shade tree in south florida I am looking for a shade tree that would grow fast and tall to keep the sun off of the house
Sherry,
Probably not. Japanese maples struggle in extreme heat and they are not fast growing. Nor do they get tall enough shade a building. Regular upright Japanese maples only get 20 to 25 feet.
Buyer Beware!!!
I say this because Mike sells his system as “The back yard nursery”. What he should say is The whole yard nursery.Thats what has happened to me.It is just that satisfying.Oh and did he tell you that you will lose sleep ?? I lay awake lots of nights ,planning how I want to do things. I am retired now..Led a good clean life till now,and look at me. Im an addict.LOL
I have been cutting corners to save money and today is the day Mike.Im making my order of your plan.I need it badly.Im over my head now from just the info that you have been sending me.Oh and I checked you out by calling a few of your club members,just to chat a bit and feel things out.They all say you are straight up guy ,and they are having the time of there lives doing this.Love you Mike .Please look for my order,Im doing it TODAY!!
Robert, congratulations on a job well done and for making the decision to get my system. Many people try and do this without my system, but in the end they realize they just lack the information they need to make this successful. They can’t find the sources that I use, they are missing key elements to the success of their business. So I congratulation you again, you are certain to have some fun! http://freeplants.com/wanted.htm
Hello Mike,I have 35 Japanese Red Maples growing in flats that I started with seed from my 10 year old Japanese red maple. They range from 2″ to 8″ in height. Now its only a few days away from October, and I would like to know what is the best way to keep them healthy during the winter months here in Rhode Island. Plant them outside, take them inside, shelter them and keep them outside. Thanks Angelo
Angelo, they really need to be outside where they can go dormant and get some rest. Put them in a protected area, on the ground where they will stay moist and out of the wind. Don’t let the flat dry out over the winter. Ideally, cover them with white, not clear, but white plastic to hold in moisture.
Mike, I have been following your email for some time and will be retiring soon I have 18 acre’s in medina along rt 3 down the street is a large nursery. Across from that a landscape supply yard “mulch and such” across the street from my property is a landmark country store so there is plenty of draw in the area. I would like to come and visit your operation since you are so close. I think I have the perfect gentleman farm here I have over7000 sq ftof buildings on the property as well as two ponds one I dug myself with rented equipment from the equipment rental shop 500 ft down the street.
no a this time but i want this so much i can tast it love vidoes keep thim coming
Excellent video Mike… I’m definitely inspired!
As I contemplate the care and work involved in transplanting 500 small maple trees into an outside garden area, I’m trying to run the numbers to get a feel for the potential net profit margin… initial (delivered) product cost, cost of labor, garden machinery & equipment, overall costs of vehicle(s) for transportation/delivery, supplies & materials, misc. items of inventory, storage facilities, office space, equipment & supplies, bookkeeping, and the inevitable loss of product (for various reasons), etc. Having run a small business for several years, I think I have a pretty good handle on the overall costs to be considered, in order to arrive at a reasonably accurate (potential) return on investment. Even in consideration of all that, I do believe the profit margin could be very high, depending on how one goes about the business, and of course, much of the above I already use and/or have on-hand. That said, I do have a question of which I’m not sure of the answer. Hoping you can offer the answer or some suggestions to keep this cost reasonable.
With a tree nursery, after you’ve harvested hundreds of small trees from your outside nursery land, do you replace the soil with the compost you’ve worked during the year or do you purchase a load or loads of topsoil to replace the missing soil from digging out the ground containing the root balls?
Dave, nobody actually replaces soil in the field but most do add composted leaves when they can to keep the soil fertile. But if you really want to do this business at a maximum profit, grow in small containers and sell the plants quickly. Less work, less weeding, unique selling proposition that your customers love and they keep coming back. Very little equipment involved.
My first backyard nursery was 1/20th of one acre and I produced a lot of plants in that small area. In my new location I have a lot more room and I am quickly working on condensing things because working with the smaller space is just easier. I share a lot of what I do in detail with my customers. Lots of stuff that I don’t share on this blog.
Many people take all of the information that I give away and trudge ahead, not wanting to buy my system. But they make a lot of mistakes that could have been avoided. Serious mistakes that are costly. http://freeplants.com/wanted.htm
Thank you Mike, for your timely and helpful response, continued encouragement and for the terrific information and advice you unselfishly provide all of us… even if it is without the many inside tips privy only to subscribers of your system (grin).
True enough, I’ve been receiving your “free” information for a few months now and haven’t contributed a dime to your cause, which I believe to be an honest attempt to help others help themselves. That said, I do very much intend to purchase your system in the near future, when I truly have need for it.
As it is, my wife and I are nearing retirement age and we WILL continue to work at our own pace and direction, recognizing that we will get out of our efforts no more than we are willing to put into them, whatever “them” will be. I do hope and trust) you will forgive me for looking upon my and my family’s future with a discerning attitude. After all, it is your outward generosity and low-pressure salesmanship (of your program) that has me very seriously considering your full system… to guide me in the next (and quite possibly) final decision which may well determine our future financial health.
In any event, you do have a great life story to tell and I wish you and your family good health and continued success.
Regards,
Dave
Mike,
I ENJOYED READING YOUR E MAILS
when is the best time to prune
a maple tree?
Espie, I can pruning shears in my pocket. If something needs pruning it gets pruned when I’m walking by, no matter what time of the year it is. That’s true for most all nurseryman.
Hey Mike,I like all your videos.I’m a Palm and Banana tree nut.I live in zone 7b in the southeast.There are many Banana Trees that are very cold hardy,some to zone 5 and palms to zone 6 mabey lower.I know people growing both of them in Canada.I’ve been wanting to start a Plant Nursery for sometime now.I don’t think your Backyard Growing System would work for the types of plants I want to grow and sell.What do you think?Do you know anything about cold hardy Palm and Banana Trees?
P.S. I have two of the Cut leaf Red Maples in my yard.They were my first favorite plants.
Thanks,Randy
Randy, don’t limit yourself to one or two plants unless you can establish a wholesale market for those two plants. But people are just as passionate about all plants as you are. They will buy what you grow as long as it’s hardy where they live. http://freeplants.com/wanted.htm
Hi Mike, I will be ordering your Backyard Growing System soon. I’m in Ohio also, about an hour or more south of Cleveland. My parents have a farm and I can use around 50 acres to start a nursery,of course I will be starting small,the farm has fertile loamy type soil.
What advice would you give as far as the types of trees, plants to grow? I’m thinking the Japanese Maples, Pines, white and spruces.
Thanks, Mark
Mike,
Do you have a nursery here in the Seattle area where I can buy Emerald Arborvitae?
We live in Auburn WA and will be moving to Bremerton WA by the end of the year. I need to plant the evergreens for privacy hedge and windbreaker in our new lot. Thank you.
Irene
Irene, we have two that advertise on my site, you can find them here:
https://mikesbackyardnursery.com/2012/01/washington-state-backyard-nurseries/#
Hi Mike, any idea where I can get those root balls that the Japanese maples were grown in in this video. Thanks Bob
Bob, I’m not sure who sells those. If you have my system check the wholesale directory under the pot suppliers. They might carry them. I know I’ve seen them at trade shows.
MIKE,
I WOULD LOVE TO PLANT A FEW JAPANESE RED MAPLES IN MY YARD. I LIVE IN NORTH POLE, ALASKA AND WE HAVE ABOUT 8 MONTHS OF WINTER, WHICH CAN GET DOWN TO -60 SOME TIMES, AND 80-90 DEGREE SUMMERS, WITH ALMOST ALL DAY LIGHT. CAN I GROW THESE HERE, AND WHEN SHOULD I PLANT THEM—NOW, IN FALL ???????
Jean, I don’t think Japanese maples will do well in Alaska. Most are only hardy to zone 5, a few into zone 4.
Hi Mike, I live in Colorado, zone 5, and have been told you have to plant the Japanese Maple in a protected area or they won’t survive. I noticed in some of your photos that you have them right out in the yard. Was I told wrong?
I just LOVE the picture of your little granson!
Mike,
Can you comment on verticillium wilt and Japanese Maples. I have a Japanese maple that I can collect seed from on my property but it has verticillium wilt and is dying a slow death. Can I collect seeds from this tree or will it pass along the wilt. Is this wilt something that is in most of the root stock for Japanese Maples?
Tim,
I’m certainly no expert with Verticulum wilt, but I wouldn’t be afraid to collect seeds from an infected tree. I could be wrong about that, but I just don’t believe that it is passed on via seeds. I’ve been growing Japanese maples for years and Verticulum wilt has never been much of a problem for me. I’ve had plants in my landscape affected, but I pruned out the affected branch and the trees have recovered fine. Your experience might be different than mine.
But if I were you, and you are concerned, just find another tree that you can collect seeds from. If you really start paying attention you’ll find more trees than you think are around.
Mike,
I am always facinated reading your emails. I don’t yet have the desire to get into the business, but I would be interested in a way to provide some privacy in my back yard. I have about 11 large shade trees on my 2/3 acre lot in Nashville, Tennessee. I have a 150′ fence that is 4′ high and is overgrown with vines and hedges, but there are 25′ sections where nothing is growing. And, above this are power lines, which make planting anything over 10′ to 12′ out of the question.
What can I plant that will provide privacy and cover the area I am talking about? If you need more info, I can send pictures.
Thanks,
Jack in Nashville
Jack, my first choice for privacy is always Techney Arborvitae because it’s an evergreen, grows slow enought that it’s sturdy and not too high. A deciduous choice would be burning bush.
Hey Mike,
Where did you buy these nice red maple trees at?
Thanks, Carol
Carol, I got these Japanese Red maples from one of the wholesale sources that I only share with my customers. They don’t sell retail, only to people in the trade. It’s one of the huge benefits of being in the trade. You can buy plants for a fraction of what others pay. http://freeplants.com/wanted.htm